MONTAGUE — Chloe McCarthy, one of the co-owners of the new Wayside Bar and Grill in Montague, briefly worked at its predecessor, Big Shotz, but said "no matter what it was called," people tended to refer to it as the old Wayside. McCarthy, along with mother-in-law Amber Scott - who worked at Wayside when her sons were little - and brother-in-law Colin Flahive, are in charge now, and they've gone back to the classic name. The trio celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday along with the White Lake Chamber & Visitor's Bureau.
The restaurant was known under the Wayside name for decades prior to ownership twice changing hands in the past six years. It was recently known as Big Cat Daddy Walleye and later Big Shotz before Scott, McCarthy and Flahive took over and brought back the Wayside name.
"This was her first bar job," McCarthy said of Scott's prior work experience. "She said she loved the sense of community. The regulars taught her how to bartend. We worked here briefly under Big Shotz, but everybody still called it Wayside. We're trying to bring it back to its former glory, and bring it back to the staple that it's always been."
It was a cheerful atmosphere after the ribbon-cutting, as tunes began playing in the bar, sports were on TV, and the owners set right to work assembling food and drink orders.
The new owners were the beneficiaries of some work done by prior owners over the years, as there is now a deck that provides outdoor seating and space for potential events. McCarthy said she hopes to have some live entertainment this summer when the warm temperatures arrive, and there might yet be some tweaks made to the outdoor seating area.
"We're going to do some stuff on the patio," McCarthy said. "Good food, good drinks and good times."
The new owners are excited about the community feedback they've received and look forward to living up to the name they chose to revive.
"The community's been really excited about it," McCarthy said. "It's gone over really well."
